2018 Copa Libertadores

[ursus arctos]

The closed door story had its origins in the fact that the Monumental had been closed by the city authorities last night, but that ban was lifted before today's postponement was announced.

[Ray de Galles]

Ah, thought I couldn’t see the story verified anywhere. Thanks both.

[ale]

Excuse my ignorance but when is the point reached that the game isnt worth playing & Boca are given the cup by default? Never I guess.

[cantagalo]

In the absence of any actual Libertadores football, I thought I’d pop in to mention that on Sunday Palmeiras won their tenth Brazilian title with a 1-0 win at Vasco. With the best defence, best attack and an unbeaten run of 22 games, no-one can say they weren’t worthy winners but my God, what a loathsome bunch they are.

Here’s Felipe Melo being Felipe Melo: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WYQcAB4yNmA

The appointment of Felipão just before the halfway point of the season was the turning point. 21 of those 22 undefeated games came under him - a match made in hell. And to rub it in, the winner at Vasco was scored by Deyverson (see above).

The relegation battle is the focus next Sunday. Any two of Fluminense, Vasco, Chapecoense, Sport or América-MG could go down along with the already doomed Vitória and Paraná.

[jefe]

If they move the 2nd leg to Miami I would be so so tempted to go

[Ray de Galles]

Brazil, Paraguay and Italy (specifically Genoa) are the candidates for the second leg which will apparently definitely be played outside of Argentina.

Annoyed London hasn’t thrown it’s hat in the ring, tbh.

[Sam]

What a depressing state of affairs.

[seand]

Do our South American correspondents think there's genuine safety concerns here, or are Boca just happy for the excuse to get the second leg to a neutral venue?

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Would be a shame if Chapecoense went down.

[Sam]

Do our South American correspondents think there's genuine safety concerns here, or are Boca just happy for the excuse to get the second leg to a neutral venue?

Boca don't want to play it at all, they're insisting they should be awarded the trophy without kicking a ball in the second leg and are saying they'll take it to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if the CONMEBOL disciplinary tribunal rules against them (judgement due on Thursday, and widely expected to go against Boca).

The CAS ruling could take up to three months apparently, so given the Club World Cup kicks off in mid December this could throw up an interesting situation. And if CONMEBOL insist Boca have to play and Boca still refuse we could see the decidedly unsatisfactory situation of River being awarded the thing by default, which would be the worst possible outcome. But I don't think it'll come to that.

[Rogin the Armchair fan]

Invite them both to the Club World Cup but to balance things up invite both Champions League finalists too.

[seand]

Boca don't want to play it at all, they're insisting they should be awarded the trophy without kicking a ball in the second leg and are saying they'll take it to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if the CONMEBOL disciplinary tribunal rules against them (judgement due on Thursday, and widely expected to go against Boca).

The CAS ruling could take up to three months apparently, so given the Club World Cup kicks off in mid December this could throw up an interesting situation. And if CONMEBOL insist Boca have to play and Boca still refuse we could see the decidedly unsatisfactory situation of River being awarded the thing by default, which would be the worst possible outcome. But I don't think it'll come to that.

Cheers. Best solution? Rock, paper, scissors I reckon.

[cantagalo]

My prediction that Atlético-PR would comfortably survive their Copa Sudamericana semi-final away leg at Fluminense was for once spot on. They strolled to a convincing 2-0 victory at the Maracanã and in the final will probably face Junior Barranquilla, who are defending a 2-0 away lead against Santa Fé tonight.

Fluminense have not managed a single goal in their last seven games which does not bode well for Sunday - see below.

Would be a shame if Chapecoense went down.

Yes, today is the 2 year anniversary of the disaster.

The denouement of the relegation battle should be well worth watching. All the relevant matches kick off at 7pm UK time on Sunday.

The current standings are:

Fluminense 42 points GD -17
Vasco 42 -7
Chapecoense 41 -17
————————————
América-MG 40 -16
Sport 39 -23

Sport v Santos
Chapecoense v São Paulo
Ceará v Vasco
Fluminense v América-MG

Chape and Sport are relatively strong at home and could possibly grind out wins, though São Paulo need points for an automatic Libertadores spot. Ceará reached safety last week so Vasco could get the point they need there.

I fear for Fluminense. They only need a draw but América are not quite as bad as their position suggests. With a 7 game goal drought and plummeting confidence, Flu will need the support of their increasingly disillusioned fan base. If anyone fancies going, they’re selling tickets for 5 Reais (£1).

[cantagalo]

It’s going to be in Madrid at the Bernabeu on December 9th.

In effect it is a single game final - which is how it will be next year when the 2019 final is in Santiago.

[Sporting]

River could do worse than agreeing to play the second leg at the Bombonera again...I think it's four games or so since they actually lost away to their rivals!

[Sporting]

It’s going to be in Madrid at the Bernabeu on December 9th.

In effect it is a single game final - which is how it will be next year when the 2019 final is in Santiago.

Nothing concrete yet as far as I can see on the net, though there are certainly rumours flying around.

[cantagalo]

I got it from Globo. They’re usually early and accurate with this sort of thing.

https://globoesporte.globo.com/futeb...em-madri.ghtml

[cantagalo]

It’s somewhat ironic that the final of the Libertadores will be played in the land of the colonizer.

[danielmak]

I was traveling during the last week so didn't have time to login here and was basically running a few days behind the news. For folks who are new to the Libertadores, there is some additional context with this match: a few years back River was awarded a tie after Boca fans pepper sprayed into River's inflatable tube-like tunnel (I think it was in the tunnel but maybe some combo of the tunnel and the bench). I assume part of what Boca's president is arguing is that a precedent was set with that forfeit and a similar situation exists here. Someone on another board posted something that I think is worth sharing here: CONMEBOL and AFA have made a mess of this situation but it is not a situation that is comparable to other forfeits or games moved to neutral grounds. The reason it is not comparable is because this problem with River fans attacking the Boca bus happened en route to the stadium, not on stadium grounds. Argentine police were responsible for the safety of Boca players; this isn't something that River could control. I agree with that assessment (at least as far as I understand the situation).

What's done is done but I think CONMEBOL have really screwed up with this one. I'm sure there will come a day when a Champions League final will be played in Tokyo, Miami, or somewhere in the Middle East but at this point I can't see UEFA moving their premier club competition to another continent. CONMEBOL should have already staged this game in Buenos Aires and if not, moved the match to Chile, Brasil, or Colombia.

In other news, Junior beat Santa Fe 1-0 (3-0 on aggregate) and were clearly the better team over the two legs (esp. in that first leg). I skipped to the bottom of this thread to avoid spoilers about the other game, which I hope to watch this weekend when a friend sends it to me. I expect the final will be good either way. Unfortunately, Santa Fe was really the weak link of the remaining clubs.

[cantagalo]

Daniel - spoiler alert.

Under no circumstances look at the post six up from yours!

[Ray de Galles]

River Plate refuse to play second leg in Spain.

[cantagalo]

Would be a shame if Chapecoense went down.

They’re safe after beating São Paulo. Fluminense also survive after their first goal in 8 games was enough to beat América who will be cursing a first-half missed penalty.

Sport, despite a win against Santos, and América are relegated.

[Sam]

River Plate refuse to play second leg in Spain.

No, they're not. They're registering their disagreement with the decision. They're not going to refuse to play.

That statement got completely misinterpreted/mistranslated by a staggering number of outlets.

[Ray de Galles]

Yeah, the BBC story in the link has been altered accordingly.

[cantagalo]

Atlético Paranaense get a 1-1 draw at Júnior in the first leg of the Sudamericana final. They took the lead through the excellent Pablo, conceded an equaliser and were then fortunate to see a penalty smash against their crossbar.

They must be favourites to complete the job at the Arena da Baixada where they have a formidable record and familiarity with the artificial pitch. They’re also a pretty good team - their record in the second half of the league season was bettered only by Palmeiras.